New supportive housing for women opens in Vancouver

July 25th, 2011

VANCOUVER – Women in Vancouver’s Downtown
Eastside neighbourhood now have a new option in affordable housing
available to them, after Sorella, a new 108-unit supportive housing
development celebrated its official opening today.

Representatives from the governments of Canada, British Columbia
and the City of Vancouver, along with community partners, were on
site for the announcement.

“Our government is proud to have been a partner in the
development of this project – one that will have a
lasting impact on this community,” said the Honourable
James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
and Regional Minister for British Columbia, on behalf of the
Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills
Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation (CMHC). “The opening of Sorella is
an important step forward for Vancouver and for the Downtown
Eastside. It means that more women and children will have a safe,
supportive place to live, as well as the help they need to begin a
new chapter in their lives.”

“Sorella will give women and their children a safe
place to call home and the supports they need to take their lives
in a new direction,” said Rich Coleman, Minister of
Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Housing.
“At times we all need a little extra support to
overcome the challenges life can bring and all the partners came
together to help make sure these women don’t have to
take that journey alone. The Province is committed to housing
investments like this – that make a difference to
families and to our communities.”

Through an amendment to the Canada-British Columbia Affordable
Housing Agreement, the federal government contributed more than
$6.1 million to support the construction of Sorella.

The Province of British Columbia provided a $14.6-million grant
and will provide $472,961 in annual operating funding. The City of
Vancouver provided the land, valued at $2.6 million, development
cost levies of more than $400,000 and a grant of close to $3
million to develop the ground floor commercial retail space.

“Providing safe, supportive housing to women and
children who are homeless or at risk of being homeless is an
important step towards ensuring our most vulnerable citizens have a
place to call home,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor
Robertson. “Sorella is meeting a critical need in the
community and I am proud that we have created a strong partnership
with other levels of government and community organizations towards
the common goal of addressing homelessness in
Vancouver.”

“At Atira, we have demonstrated that providing women
with a safe, affordable place to call home changes their
lives,” said Janice Abbott, CEO of Atira
Women’s Resource Society. “Sorella is
already more than just a building – it is a community
of women, supporting each other and working together to create a
safe, caring retreat in an often too busy and seemingly uncaring
world.”

In 2008, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion
over five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to
help the homeless. As part of this investment, the Affordable
Housing Initiative and the federal renovation programs for
low-income households were extended for two years, which
represented some $60 million in federal funding for B.C. Canada's
Economic Action Plan built on this with an additional one-time
investment of more than $2 billion over two years for the
construction of new and the renovation of existing social housing
plus $2 billion in low-cost loans to municipalities for
housing-related infrastructure. A new agreement signed today by
both orders of government implements B.C.’s allocation
of the remaining three years of the $1.9 billion, which amounts to
a further $90 million in federal funding for British Columbians in
housing need.

Sorella is part of an overall $14-billion capital infrastructure
program supported by the Province that will create up to 88,000
jobs and help build public infrastructure in every region of B.C.
Increasing affordable housing, reducing homelessness and helping
those who cannot help themselves is a key agenda for the Province
of British Columbia. Through the provincial housing strategy,
Housing Matters BC, the Province is addressing a range of housing
needs, from homelessness to affordable rental housing and
homeownership.

CMHC has been Canada's national housing agency for more than 65
years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians access a wide choice
of quality, environmentally sustainable, affordable housing
solutions, while making vibrant, healthy communities and cities a
reality across the country.

More information on Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the
federal government’s plan to stimulate the economy and
protect those hit hardest by the global recession, can be found at:
www.actionplan.gc.ca

To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are
working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians,
call CMHC at 1 800 668-2642, or visit:
www.cmhc.ca/housingactionplan

Over the last decade, the Province has invested $2.8 billion to
provide affordable housing for low-income individuals, seniors and
families. This year, more than 93,000 B.C. households will benefit
from provincial social housing programs and services.

To learn more about provincial programs and services to address
homelessness, visit:
www.bchousing.org .

BACKGROUNDER
SORELLA

Sorella, which means “sister” in
Italian, is a 10-storey, 108-unit building located at 525 Abbott
Street, which includes 12 two-bedroom apartments for single-parent
women-led families. One-third of the resident spaces will be
reserved for people with mental illness or substance abuse problems
referred by and connected to health and social services in the
area.

The development includes ground floor retail space, parking spaces
and 110 bicycle storage lockers, amenity space and a bedbug
decontamination room. Designed to LEED Gold standards, it is
managed and operated by Atira Women’s Resource Society,
a not-for-profit organization committed to ending violence against
women. The society provides direct service as well as increased
awareness and education around the scope and impact on our
communities of men’s violence against women and
children.

The building is the first of 14 new supportive housing
developments being built through a partnership between the Province
and the City to officially open. The federal government provided
support for four of the projects that will create more than 1,500
new supportive housing units in the city. More than half the
projects are either under construction or complete.

PARTNERS AND FUNDING:

The total capital cost of this development is approximately $26.8
million:

The Government of Canada provided $6,168,100, through an
amendment to the Canada-British Columbia Affordable Housing
Initiative.

The Province of British Columbia provided a $14.6 million
grant.

The City of Vancouver provided the land valued at $2,645,325
and a grant of $2,956,342 to develop the ground floor
commercial retail unit (CRU) space, in addition to waivers for
development cost levies of $416,418.

Operational funding:

The Province will provide $472,961 in annual operating
funding.

The Atira Women’s Resource Society manages 14
different housing developments, and a number of related support
programs. Learn more at
www.atira.bc.ca.